Fr Joseph Ellul OP - Justitia et Pax

This state of affairs is being aggravated by the continuous and persistent
application on the part of the secular media (especially by so-called ‘religious affairs
correspondents’) of ideological terms to religion, any religion. Terms such as
“conservative”, “liberal”, “hardline”, “progressive”, “radical”, and “moderate” make no
sense in religion, where God is supposed to lie at the centre of any discourse.
Citizenship and belief
Modern European societies face the phenomenon of populations whose roots
are culturally and religiously diverse. Here one needs to be reminded that the
modern democratic nation is also based on the notion that there is a public domain in
which a multiplicity of communities with different traditions (including religious ones)
can join in that collective enterprise which is called citizenship.
In many European countries we are witnessing larger societies disintegrate
into religiously, culturally or ethnically defined identities. The more plural and multireligious
a society we become, the more we need to reflect upon what holds us
together. In the words of Sir Jonathan Sacks, “we each have to be bilingual.” 18
Following his line of thinking “there is a first and public language of citizenship which
we have to learn if we are to live together”. Then “there is a variety of second
languages which connect us to our local framework of relationships: to family and
group and the traditions that underlie them. If we are to achieve integration without
assimilation, it is of the utmost importance that each language be given its due.” 19
Our second languages are cultivated in the context of families, which are the first
educators as well as our intermediaries between the individual and the state. They
are where we acquire and learn our identities, where we develop a sense of
belonging and obligation. Pluralism must not be reduced to neutrality. 20
We would, however, be ill-advised to ignore our belonging to the wider
community brought into existence by citizenship. Recent events in various European
countries have proven that such a stand creates sectarian leadership, the politics of
protest, single issue lobbies, and frequently, acts of violence. Keeping alive the
18 Jonathan Sacks, The Persistence of Faith: Religion, Morality and Society in a Secular Age,
Weidenfeld and Nicolson, London 1991, p. 66f.
19 Ibid.
20 Ibid.
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